Envelope



Nov. '16, 1937. A. c. BENEDICT V 2,099,256

ENVELOPE I Filed Nov. 15, 19:54 2 Sheets-Shet 1 Nov. 16, 1937.

A. c. BENEDICT ENVELOPE Filed Nov. 15, 1934 2 Sheets-Shee,t 2

John gee: Co.

ll 05 n Moss.

Patented Nov. 16, 1937 UNITED STATES zp aztt ENVELOPE Anthony 0. Benedict,

Rockville Centre, N.

? Application November15,1934, Scrial'No. 753,074

' I7 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in envelopes and the like and has for a'main pbject to provide an end loading envelope compartment the same envelope on whichis more easilyloaded' with mailingmatter or the like than end loading envelopes as heretofore provided, with a saving in time required to load or to empty the compartment of itscontents w A 1 Other objectsof th'e invention 'and advantages derived therefrom will in partbe obvious and will in part appear-hereinafter. 7

My invention is embodied in'an envelope as hereinafter described in which 7 Figure '1 shows a frontvie'wpf a'duplex en-' velope having a letter compartment in which the inventionv appears.

Figure 2 is a View of the un e side of the front.

Wall of this letter compartment showing the construction of thejcompartment.

Figure, 3 isa horizontal sectional view of this envelope on line with the top edge of part '3 Figure 1, with some of the dimensions exaggerated. Figure 4 is a vertical sectional view of part of line with the vertical right edge of part3. ,j

Figure 5 shows adifferently constructed'envelope compartment embodying, the invention. Figure fi shows still a diiferent construction. Figure 7 is a vertical sectional view of Fig. 6 on line with the right end of the enclosure I I.

Throughout the specifications and. the claims t-headdressside of the envelopeor compartment will be referred to as the front and the opposite side as the back. The ends or sides of the envelope or compartment may be referred to as the leftor right but such references are for'con venience in referring to drawings' and not used for purposes of limitation;

End loading envelopes or;compartments, that I is generally oblong envelopeshaving their entrance for loading with mailing matter and the like at one of their shorter edges so that, for instance, aletter suitably folded to fit'is inserted thereinto endwise, have been found less convenient to load or to empty than side loading envelopes having the loading entrance at a long edge. This is mainly for the obvious reason that an end loading entrance 'does not gap open as 'readily'or asmu'ch to receive the mail as a side loading entrance which of course is wider. On

the other hand, end loading envelopes or cornpartments have advantages in other ways, and the present invention removes defects in such envelopes sothat they can beloaded and emptied easier and more quickly than in the prior art;

' I achieve this result by'leaving the front wall of the compartment loose from the back wall at and for a substantial distance away from a side of the enclosure space in the compartment at the loading entrance,",and theentrance is-made wider than the'enc'losurespa'ce. The parts forming the entrance-therefore separate from each other and the entrance gaps openreadily and farther than would otherwisefbe the case. A lettergfor instance, suitably folded can therefore be started into the compartmentwith relative case, because the walls do not interfere, and having been started, the letter slips easily on into the com-' partment because the walls being but loosely joined'do not gripitand delay the operation.

Looking at Figures '1 to 4, it will be seen that there is a compartment'formed atthe front of a duplex envelope which latter is made from a single blankof paper; by part 3 being folded over and gummed' to part '2 by the adhesive strip '20 8, The compartment is closed along its left and along its top edgeas far only as A which is 10- cated a suitable substantial distance from the bevelled corner 0. The bottom e dge'of the compartment is closed by the fold at the bottom of the envelope, thelower edge of part 2 being held in this fold between the back I of the envelope and part 3, thus forming the back of the smaller compartment. The entrance l3 for loading the compartment extends from the end A of the adhesive strip 8 under thetop edge of the compartments front wall 3 and under the corner (3 and the entire (in this example) right end of 3 to a point B, the front wall for the entire distance A-Bbein'g loose from the back wall. There is thus formed between 2 and3'an enclosure space whichis bounded by the bottom fold of the compartment, the inner edge of the adhesive strip 8 along the .end and topof the compartment, and

edgeof strip 8 to the right end of the compartment at the base of the flap 6, thence along this flap base aoline to the bottom fold. Thisenclosurespace is adapted for containing a generally oblong enclosure which may be substantially rectangular in shape as illustrated at I I and position lines l2, Additional space, which is coextensive with the enclosure space, may exist in the compartment, which is not likely tobe oc cupiedby the enclosure' 'Part 3 between A and B being loose from 2 tends to separate from it forming a gap which facilitates insertion of a letter orthelike. This gap is clearly indicated at-l3, and of course it may be augmented by suit- V ably scoring or-otherwise bending back the loose a variable line from the right end of the inner :40 p

ment between parts 2 and l corner part of front wall 3 between corner C and the line AB as should be understood in the art.

It shouldbe obvious that corner C being loose an enclosure to be inserted can be started through the entrance [3 under or either side of the corner, and sidewise or endwise or cornerwise of the enclosure. It will be noted that the back wall of the compartment, formed by part 2, extends under the entrance I3 and out therefrom to the right and upward, so that it will serve as a readyguide to facilitate insertion of a letter, for instance, into the entrance and the compartment.

In Figure l the letter compartment is seen with a usual-address window 9 and a closing flap 6 on part 2 provided with sealing means I, and at ID are shown position lines which indicate the approximate position of the flap and sealing means when the compartment is closed as for mailing. It should be noted that sealing means 1 extends along the top edge of flap 6 so as to overlap on to part 2 as well as on to part 3 when the flap is in the closed position and sealed as for mailing, and thereby the two walls of the compartment are held firmly together at or near corner C as well as elsewhere. Thus there may remain an open space under part 3 between A and where flap 6 closes the entrance 13 but this is relatively small so that the contents cannot leave the compartment therethrough, and the compartment may be inaccessibly sealed as required for first class mail. Of course the compartment may be arranged so as to have flap 6 reach to A if desired, but this is not necessary. A may be located at any suitable point and corner C may be bevelled as Shown or rounded or fashioned in any suitable manner. It should be understood that the larger compartmay be formed in any manner and as shown is formed by the folds at the top and the bottom of the envelope and the end closing flap 4 on part 2 is bent over the end of part I and secured to the back thereof, while the large flap 5 on part I is for closing the larger compartment after loading.

Figure 5 shows a similarly constructed envelope, but in this example the loading entrance l3 of the smaller compartment which extends from A to B under edges of the front wall 3 is arranged to be closed after loading by sealing down the corner C and adjoining edges by means of adhesive strip 1 which may be provided onv the. under side of part 3 as indicated or on part 2. At H is indicated a spot or strip of adhesive which holds part 3 to part 2 and entrance l3 ending at B does not include the open end of the compartment in its entirety. However, a substantial part of the end is open and loading may be said to be done at the end as well as at the side of the compartment, or at the corner.

As'explained in connection with Figure 1, the corner C in Figure 5 is also left loose from the back wall 2 of the compartment in manufacture, as are also the adjoining edges of part 3 to A and B, thus forming a relatively Wide gapping entrance i3 for loading and through which an enclosure as illustrated at H can be easily and quickly inserted, and thereafter this loose part may be stuck down and the entrance closed by the adhesive means 1. Thus there is form d, when the compartment entrance is closed, in the small compartment shown, a substantially rectangular oblong space for holding an oblong enclosure made to fit, this space being bounded at the left by the inner edge of 8, at the top by a line along he nner edges of 8 and t the right by a line along the inner edge of 1 to the bottom fold, and at the bottom by the fold of the envelope.

Figure 6 presents also an envelope having a larger compartment constructed in a similar manner to that used in Fig. 1, with the smaller compartment illustrating a still different arrangement of its parts and loading entrance. In this example the front wall 3 of the small compartment is not gummed at its left end to part 2 but may have a flap which is bent backward and secured to the back of the envelope or to part 4 in a usual manner, and the enclosure space in this compartment extends to the left end of the envelope. The adhesive strip 8 secures the top edge of the front wall 3 throughout its length to part 2 so the entire top edge of the compartment as well as its left end and bottom edges is closed.

The right endof the compartment is made substantially wider than the other end so that an open loading entrance i3 is provided extending from A to B which is substantially wider than a space occupiable by an enclosure of maximum Width to fit the oblong space which is formed by the bottom of the compartment at the bottom' fold, the left end, the inner edge of adhesive strip 8 from the left end to angularity D, and a line approximately parallel to the bottom of the compartment extended from D to the base of flap 5 and a line along said base to the fold at the bottom of the compartment. The flap 6 is on part 2 and will close the-compartment entrance when folded against part 3 asindicated by the position lines I0 Which indicate not only the approximate closed position of flap 6 but also of the sealing means I. A strip of adhesive may be provided as shown extending along the top edge of flap 6 toward the flaps base, and as shown this will, when the flap is sealed down, adhere to part 2 as well as to part 3 and, with part 6, will strengthen the compartment at or near A as illustrated. The strip 1a serves a similar purpose and when stuck to part 2 will prevent an enclosure which extends out beyond the compartments entrance l3, as illustrated by I I, from shifting its position unduly in the direction of A so as to possibly prevent an address on the enclosure from registering properly through the window 9. However, the strip Ia may not be used, as when the horizontal inner edge of adhesive strip 8 is long enough and close enough to the enclosure to hold it properly in position as illust ated in Fig. 1.

At Figure 7, there is indicated at l5 by position lines the. way the adhesive strip la may hold the walls of the compartment together at the entrance l3.

It appears that in all cases is the mouth, or loading entrance of the letter compartment illustrated relatively wider than the general width of the compartment, also that the front wall of the compartment is loose for a substantial distance at a side of the space intended to be occupied by enclosures adjoining where it intersects the entrance, and as a result of this the entrance tends to spread or gap open more readily than in envelopes of end loading type in which the walls are closely joined at the edge of the enclosure space. In some cases the space intended to be occupied by the letter orother enclosure is less than the total space within the envelope and the extra space is incidental to an enlargement of the compartment at the entrance to provide the easier loading which is an object of the invention.

It should be understood that the constructions shown in the drawings are illustrative only and not used for purposes of limitation, and maybe altered or changed or interchanged within the principle of the invention and the, scope of the claims. Alsothat, although a duplex envelope having another compartment formed in combi-- nation with the compartment in which the invention appears is shown in the drawings, the

invention may be embodied in envelopes and the 7 like of other kinds. However, there appears a particular advantage to be derived from it in duplex envelopes in some cases.

I claim:

1. A duplex envelope having a generally oblong compartment, the latter having an end loading entrance which is substantially wider than the general width of the compartment whereby relatively easy loading is provided, said entrance being without communication with another compartment provided in the envelope and said en'- trance being arranged to cooperate to provide relatively easy loading of the former compartment with a continuation of the back wall of this compartment which extends in more than one direction outside from theentrance and serves as aguide to steer a suitably folded letter into said entrance.

2. Aduplex envelope having a relatively large compartment and a smaller compartment, each having its own individual closing means, said smaller compartment being without access from the larger, the smaller having a loading entrance formed by the front wall thereof being loose from the rear wall along at least the major part of one end and a substantial part of ajsidefedge of the space provided therein for a rectangular enclosure made to fit this compartment, a partition wall between said compartments extending continuously beneath the length of said entrance and continuand an extension of the back wall of said compartment out beyond the entrance in more than one direction forming a guide adapted for readily steering enclosures into said entrance.

4. A duplex envelope compartment generally oblong. in shape having a loading entrance, which is substantially wider than the compartment, formed under and extending for a substantial distance either side of a corner of the front wall of the compartment, which latter is loose from the back wall, and an extension of the back wall of the compartment in more than one direction outside from the entrance adapted for readily guid ing enclosures into the entrance.

5. A duplex envelope compartment generally oblong in shape having a loading entrance, which is substantially wider than the compartment,

formed under and extending for a substantial dis- 7 tance either side of a corner of the front wall of the compartment, which latter is loose from the back wall, said loose corner part being formed to a bent back position causing the entrance to gap open so as to facilitate insertion, and an extension of the back wall of the compartment in more than one direction outside from the entrance adapted for readily guiding enclosures into the entrance. 7

6. A duplex envelope compartment generally oblong in shape having an end loading entrance 7 .at'an end of the compartment which is made wider than the general width of the compartment, said entrance being also substantially wider than the general width of the compartment, and the back wall of the compartment having an extension outside beyond the entrance so as to act as a guide for enclosures being inserted thereinto.

'7. A duplex envelope compartment generally oblong in shape having an end loading entrance at anendof the compartment which is made wider than the general width of the compartment, said entrance being also substantially Wider than the general width of the compartment, and means for holdinga rectangular enclosure such as a folded letter in position so that an address on theletter will be kept properly registered through an address window which is provided in the compartment, and the back wall of the compartment having an extension outside beyond the entrance adapted to act as a ready guide for enclosures being inserted thereinto.

ANTHONY C. BENEDICT. 

